RP-JAPAN DAVIS CUP TIE LIVE TV COVERAGE AUGURS WELL FOR PHILIPPINE SPORTS
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 07 Mar 2011
Manny Pangilinan.
For those of us whose passion is sports and there are millions of Filipinos similarly inclined, the ?live? coverage of the Davis Cup tie between the Philippines and Japan by Aksyon TV 5 over the weekend was a most welcome development.
We are now beginning to see the fruits of esteemed businessman-sportsman Manny Pangilinan?s almost legendary support and involvement in a variety of sports that definitely augurs well for sports and youth development which surely must remain a cornerstone of a strong and vibrant nation that we all want the Philippines to become.
Leadership is the key both in the realm of national life as well as in sports and we are slowly but surely beginning to reap the benefits of unsullied integrity and faith in our president Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III as evidenced by strong national and international confidence in him and by sports leaders from the private sector effectively showing the way.
While we know that Mr. Pangilinan?s original passion is basketball, he and those in key positions around him have realized that there are other sports besides basketball in which we have a better chance to shine and that can be equally entertaining.
Television is the key to growing a sport and enhancing public understanding and appreciation in these modern times. If we look back at sports in which the Philippines enjoyed glory years just as we did in basketball during the era of the great Caloy Loyzaga, then the era of Felicissimo ?The Mighty Mite? Ampon, the Deyro brothers Ray and Federico, Johnny Jose, Eddie Cruz, Felix Barrientos and Roland So among others in tennis, it provides a glimpse of what Filipinos are truly capable of.
Of course boxing, behind the glorious exploits of pound-for-pound king and ?Fighter of the Decade? Manny Pacquiao and the new sensation Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire, is probably the biggest source of pride and honor for our country today. But if we bring our sports leaders together, setting aside debilitating leadership squabbles and petty personal bickering then, with the remarkable support of men like Manny Pangilinan, the future is indeed ours to conquer.
The Davis Cup coverage, we know for a fact, was willed by Mr. Pangilinan and we salute him for this. It is the kind of passion enhanced by action, that will spell the difference, just as it has done in the recent phenomenal rise of Azkal fever.
ABS-CBN Sports has shown its growing commitment to sports in what Gabby Lopez has referred to as sports in the service of the Filipino. Manny Pangilinan has put his own unbridled passion for sports into action and performance as he has done with the telecast of the Davis Cup tie against Japan. To us, while winning would have been rewarding, its not the only reward in such an enterprise.
We have to commend the local officials of Lapu Lapu City for daring to do what needs to be done to help promote sports and a fitness lifestyle. So too to the management of picturesque Plantation Bay who did everything humanly possible to construct a venue and create a setting that even the Japanese conceded was in many respects world class. Then of course there was the indefatigable former junior tennis player and tennis official Randy Villanueva who reflects in compelling fashion the advantages of the involvement of our young in national endeavors.
One other hugely satisfying aspect for us personally was the emergence of youthful Jason Webb as a television sports personality with substance and style and a refreshing fluency and understanding of basketball and now tennis. We have always considered Jason, along with the likes of TJ Manotoc and Boom Gonzales, assets in the public enjoyment of sports on TV and with the excellent directorial work of longtime colleague and friend Dong Capinpuyan, we may have lost the cup tie but the collective hearts of the fans who were a sight to behold in a tennis match and the TV audience, were filled. It surely is the dawn of a brand new era in Philippine sports.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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